| Post: | President |
| Body: | the Kyrgyz Republic |
| Insignia: | Flag of the President of Kyrgyzstan.svgborder |
| Insigniacaption: | Presidential standard |
| Incumbent: | Sadyr Japarov |
| Incumbentsince: | 28 January 2021 |
| Style: | Mr. President (informally) Comrade Commander-in-Chief (military) His Excellency (international correspondence) |
| Status: | Head of state Head of government |
| Member Of: | Cabinet Security Council |
| Residence: | Ala Archa State Residence |
| Appointer: | Direct popular vote |
| Termlength: | 5 years, renewable once[1] |
| Precursor: | Chairmen of the Supreme Soviet of the Kirghiz SSR |
| Inaugural: | Askar Akayev |
| Constituting Instrument: | Constitution of Kyrgyzstan |
| Salary: | 1 281 609 som/US$ 14,660 annually |
| Seat: | White House, Bishkek |
The president of Kyrgyzstan, officially the president of the Kyrgyz Republic (Kirghiz; Kyrgyz: Кыргыз Республикасынын Президенти|translit=Kyrgyz Respublikasynyn Prezidenti; Russian: Президент Киргизской Республики|translit=Prezident Kirgizskoy Respubliki), is the head of state and head of government of the Kyrgyz Republic. The president directs the executive branch of the national government, is the commander-in-chief of the Kyrgyz military and also heads the National Security Council.
The president, according to the constitution, "is the symbol of the unity of people and state power, and is the guarantor of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, and of an individual and citizen."
The office of president was established in 1990 replacing the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet that existed, in different forms, from 1936 whilst the country was known as the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic.
The first popularly elected officeholder was Askar Akayev, who served from October 1990 until 24 March 2005. In July 2005, Kurmanbek Bakiyev was elected. He was re-elected in 2009, but large riots in April 2010 forced him to resign and flee the country. Roza Otunbayeva was selected in April 2010 to head the interim government. She was officially inaugurated on 3 July 2010, as president for a limited term, until elections could be organised. Her successor, Almazbek Atambayev, was elected in the 2011 Kyrgyzstani presidential election and subsequently succeeded Otunbayeva on 1 December that year.
On 16 October 2017, Sooronbay Jeenbekov, the former prime minister, was elected president of the country. He took office on 24 November 2017. On 15 October 2020, Jeenbekov resigned following unrest over the parliamentary elections on 4 October. Jeenbekov was succeeded by Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov, who became acting president before being confirmed as the 6th and current president on 16 October, and officially held the post on 28 January 2021.[2] [3]
On assuming office, the president raises his/her right arm and puts it on the Kyrgyz Constitution while reciting the following oath:
Russian Translation:
English Translation:
The office of president is open to all citizens of Kyrgyzstan who are no younger than 35 years of age, and no older than 65 years of age. A candidate must have a command of the state language, and have resided in the republic for no less than 15 years before the nomination of his or her candidacy for the position. The president cannot be a deputy of the Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament), occupy other positions, or carry out entrepreneurial activities, and must suspend activity in political parties and organizations for their period in office.
On taking office the president must take the following oath, stipulated by Article 45 of the constitution, within 30 days of election before the assembled members of the legislative chamber:
The president is elected by the citizens of Kyrgyzstan by a majority of votes cast. These elections are held on the basis of universal suffrage, and by secret ballot. To become a candidate a person must obtain the signatures of fifty thousand registered voters.
For an election to be considered valid the turnout must not be lower than fifty percent. Similarly, if a candidate wins the backing of fifty percent of the voters who participated they are the winner. Should no candidate win an outright majority in the first round, the two candidates with the highest number of votes face each other in a second ballot.
The Inauguration ceremony of the president of Kyrgyzstan is a ceremony that takes place to mark the start of a new term for the president of Kyrgyzstan.[4]
List of inaugural ceremonies
| Date | President | Location | Document Sworn On | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White House, Bishkek | Constitution of the Kyrgyz SSR | It was the first presidential inauguration in the history of Kyrgyzstan. | |||
| White House, Bishkek | Constitution of Kyrgyzstan | ||||
| Philharmonic Hall named after Toktogul Satylganov | Constitution of Kyrgyzstan | ||||
| Kurmanbek Bakiyev | Ala-Too Square | Constitution of Kyrgyzstan | It took place on Ala-Too Square for the first time.[5] The President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev,[6] the Prime Minister of Tajikistan Oqil Oqilov, the Chairman of the National Assembly of Belarus Gennady Novitsky, the Minister of Defense of Turkey Vecdi Gönül, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Borys Tarasyuk attended the inauguration.[7] | ||
| Kurmanbek Bakiyev | Government House, Bishkek | Constitution of Kyrgyzstan | |||
| Roza Otunbayeva | Philharmonic Hall named after Toktogul Satylganov | Constitution of Kyrgyzstan | [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] | ||
| Almazbek Atambayev | Philharmonic Hall named after Toktogul Satylganov | Constitution of Kyrgyzstan | He was inaugurated on 1 December 2011. The ceremony was attended by the president of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, and president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili. The ceremony budget cost less than half of what was spent for inauguration ceremony of Kurmanbek Bakiev in 2009.[14] | ||
| Sooronbay Jeenbekov | Ala Archa State Residence | Constitution of Kyrgyzstan | See main article: Inauguration of Sooronbay Jeenbekov. It was the first inauguration ceremony to take place at the Ala Archa State Residence.[15] | ||
| Sadyr Japarov | Philharmonic Hall named after Toktogul Satylganov[16] | Constitution of Kyrgyzstan | The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the first President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev were invited, but ultimately did not attend the inauguration. However former leaders Sooronbay Jeenbekov and Roza Otunbayeva did attend.[17] |
The head of state holds significant power as provided for in the constitution. This states that they have the authority to:
The president may be dismissed from office by Parliament only on the basis of a charge made by the Legislative Assembly of state treason or another grievous crime supported by a ruling of the Constitutional Court. Such a decision requires the support of two-thirds of the Jogorku Kenesh who are immediately dismissed should the president be found innocent.
If the president becomes unable to carry out their duties for reasons such as death, illness or impeachment, the prime minister shall carry out their duties until the election of a new head of state. This must take place within three months of the termination of their Presidency. Kyrgyzstan has only had one peaceful transition of power from president to president (in 2017). Askar Akayev was forced from office by the Tulip Revolution of 2005 and Kurmanbek Bakiyev was forced from office by the Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010. Almazbek Atambayev was peacefully succeeded by Sooronbay Jeenbekov in 2017. However, Jeenbekov resigned from office due to the 2020 Kyrgyzstani protests and was succeeded by Sadyr Japarov.
indicates an individual serving as an acting or provisional president of Kyrgyzstan
| Name | Picture | Took office | Left office | Elected | Political party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Askar Akayev Аскар Акаев (1944–) | 27 October 1990 | 30 December 1995 | 1990 | |||
| 13 October 1991 | 30 December 1995 | 1991 | |||||
| 30 December 1995 | 9 December 2000 | 1995 | |||||
| 9 December 2000 | 24 March 2005 | 2000 | |||||
| – | Ishenbai Kadyrbekov Ишенбай Кадырбеков (1949–) | 24 March 2005 | 25 March 2005 | — | |||
| – | Kurmanbek Bakiyev Курманбек Бакиев (1949–) | 25 March 2005 | 14 August 2005 | — | Independent (25 March 2005 - 14 August 2005) People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan (14 August 2005 - 15 October 2007) Ak Jol (15 October 2007 - 7 April 2010) | ||
| 2 | 14 August 2005 | 2 August 2009 | 2005 | ||||
| 2 August 2009 | 7 April 2010 | 2009 | |||||
| – | Roza Otunbayeva Роза Отунбаева (1950–) | 7 April 2010 | 3 July 2010 | — | Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan | ||
| 3 | 3 July 2010 | 1 December 2011 | — | ||||
| 4 | Almazbek Atambayev Алмазбек Атамбаев (1956–) | 1 December 2011 | 24 November 2017 | 2011 | Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan | ||
| 5 | Sooronbay Jeenbekov Сооронбай Жээнбеков (1958–) | 24 November 2017 | 15 October 2020 | 2017 | Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan | ||
| – | Sadyr Japarov Садыр Жапаров (1968–) | 16 October 2020 | 14 November 2020 | — | Mekenchil | ||
| – | Talant Mamytov Талант Мамытов (1976–) | 14 November 2020 | 27 January 2021 | — | Kyrgyzstan | ||
| 6 | Sadyr Japarov Садыр Жапаров (1968–) | 28 January 2021 | Incumbent | 2021 | Mekenchil |